<Begin Segment 28>

TI: Okay, so let's talk about after the war. So you mentioned earlier how Dyna went to Chicago and got a job with International Harvester? And so that you, the family, all went to Chicago? What was Chicago like?

RN: Well, we were, we didn't have any friends except that Reverend Kono. He used to, he was single reverend, he used to come, I used to cook and he used to come and eat. Outside of that, I didn't have no one.

TI: And so other than Reverend Kono, did you see other Japanese Americans? Because in Chicago, there were quite a few Japanese Americans who resettled there during and after the war. So I'm curious if there was ever, sort of, parties or any group activities.

RN: No, uh-uh.

KN: Weren't we good friends with the Omachi family? Didn't George Omachi's family stay with you and Dad, or was that with Uncle Johnny and Auntie El?

RN: Yeah.

TI: Okay. So any other memories about Chicago that kind of stand out?

RN: No. Chicago.

KN: Reverend Kono was what church, Mom?

RN: That was the Buddhist church, Chicago Buddhist Church.

KN: Tell Tom one of the bad experience you had in Chicago with your purse.

RN: Oh, yeah. Someone stole my purse. And I told that to the police, says, "If you had your mouth open, they would steal your teeth." [Laughs]

TI: So not much sympathy from the police. [Laughs]

RN: That's what they told me.

KN: Didn't you say it was cold in Chicago, Mom?

RN: Oh, yeah.

TI: And so how long did you live in Chicago?

RN: How long did I live?

KN: A year, you said.

RN: About a year?

<End Segment 28> - Copyright © 2010 Densho and Preserving California's Japantowns. All Rights Reserved.